Why is an ESL Teacher Writing about Diabetes?
You might be wondering why an ESL teacher (me) would be interested in writing about diabetes (I hope after reading this post, you will be interested too).
Here is my story.
Five years ago, when my son was 13, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I knew almost nothing about diabetes so I started reading everything I could about the disease. What I discovered both shocked and compelled me to take action as an ESL teacher.
What I learned is that immigrants from South Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa have a 2 to 3 times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes than Western European or North American populations. When I thought of my ESL students, the majority were from these parts of the world. I felt that I needed to share this information with them.
The first thing I did was search the Internet for a lesson plan. Unfortunately I could not find anything that was appropriate for ESL learners and certainly nothing geared to intermediate level learners so I decided to develop my own lesson plan.
The end result is Diabetes: Reducing the Risk (CERF A2/CLB 4). This lesson plan is a collaborative effort in that I worked with another ESL educator, a public health nurse, peer health educators, a Certified Diabetes Educator and a dietician. (This FREE resource is available at https://patrice-palmer.mykajabi.com)
I am very grateful to Kathryn Aldridge Morris who featured my personal story and lesson plan in How to Write ESOL Materials. (2015). ELT Teacher 2 Writer last year. Kathryn has helped me share this information with ESL teachers.
Why Teach ESL/EFL Students about Diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is a global epidemic, with cases rising in Canada, the UK and globally. It is a serious, chronic disease that disproportionately affects specific ethnic populations (Asian, Southeast Asian, African, and Hispanic). Please look carefully at the map above.
In the UK, the risk of diabetes is five times higher for immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh and three times higher for Indian immigrants, with an associated increased risk of complications, morbidity and mortality compared with the native white Caucasian population.
Men and women who immigrated to the U.K. from India, West Africa and the Caribbean developed diabetes at twice the rate of British people of European descent, according to a 20-year study.
Typically cases are diagnosed in adults; however there has also been a steady rise in Canada among children and youth with an over representation of South East Asians and African Canadians.
In Canada, the prevalence of diabetes has doubled among South Asian men (from 6.7 per cent to 15.2 per cent) and black women (from 6.3 per cent to 12.2 per cent) in the last decade.
Research suggests that immigrants arrive in Canada healthier than the average Canadian however within a short period of time (5–7 years); their health declines. This has been called the Healthy Immigrant Effect so teaching our ESL students about health issues is so important.
The Good News
Risk factors like age and ethnicity cannot be changed however research suggests that a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and maintaining a normal body weight can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Therefore it is important to teach new immigrants — our students — about how to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For the last few years, I have been giving presentations to ESL students in my city. It has been incredibly rewarding.
Next week, I will be presenting Diabetes — Reducing the Risk at IATEFL in Birmingham, England and sharing my passion for this project with other teachers around the world.
Thank you for reading, Patrice
For more FREE resources, please visit my website at https://patrice-palmer.mykajabi.com
